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James Sutherland, the somewhat embattled chief executive of Cricket Australia, believes that his players are enjoying the better preparation for the Ashes, no matter that some are coming from white-ball cricket in India or that England’s pre-series opposition is not quite as weak as he originally wanted.

The Invitational XI have been nicknamed the Capitulation XI because of Sutherland’s response to a request from David Collier, his ECB counterpart, to bolster what was originally a New South Wales second team in all but name. Even so, the bowling is raw, and Kevin Pietersen seized the opportunity to become the sixth